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06/28/2010 - Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A muddy racetrack at Churchill Downs proved no deterrent Monday morning for two of the best known thoroughbreds in training. Defending Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra and 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird worked out over an off track at the historic facility.
Rachel Alexandra, with Shaun Bridgmohan in the saddle, had her final workout before being sent to Saratoga by trainer Steve Asmussen. The four-year-old filly covered five-furlongs in 1:03 over sloppy footing. She galloped out six furlongs in 1:17.
"She handles it really well," Asmussen said. "She went good. We've got travel plans this week and want everything to go smoothly."
Asmussen will be sending the champion and others to historic Saratoga on Wednesday. The hot weather in Louisville convinced Asmussen to ship to upstate New York a week early.
"It's time," said Asmussen. "I'll be very happy when she's settled in there and we can get into our routine up there."
Owned by Stonestreet Stables and Harold McCormick, Rachel Alexandra got her win of the year on June 12 with a 10 1/2-length victory in the Fleur de Lis at Churchill Downs. After two second-place finishes to begin 2010 the filly looked like her old self in the 1 1/8-mile stakes.
Later Monday morning, Mine That Bird put in a workout over a muddy Churchill track. The gelding went five-furlongs in a very fast 59 4/5 seconds. This was his final workout before making his 2010 debut.
Calvin Borel, the four-year-old's regular jockey, had Mine That Bird gallop out six-furlongs in 1:14 3/5 with trainer D. Wayne Lukas watching.
"I told Calvin we needed to let him do it with no prompting today, just let him do it on his own," Lukas said. "I told him I'd like to see him finish up and if he'd get it in a minute to 1:01, that would be about right. Once I turned him loose and I rode over by the rail to see how deep it was, I thought 'If he does that, he's going to be really going good'. And then he goes 59- and-four.
"I couldn't be happier. Every step has been right down the line. I like the way that he's changing, mentally and physically. That's the big thing. We know he can run if everything's right. Physically, he's so much stronger, he might be 150 pounds heavier than he was last year. And mentally, he's really getting good."
Overnight rains caused the Churchill track to come sloppy as training began Monday morning. As the day progressed the track condition improved to muddy.
"He's just blossomed out," said Borel. "How good is he? I don't know, but we're going to find out. I think he's a good horse. I don't care what anybody says, he wasn't a fluke."
Mine That Bird, owned by Mark Allen and Dr. Leonard Blach, has not raced since finishing ninth to Zenyatta in the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic. He could start in one of two races this weekend at Churchill: a 1 1/16-mile allowance race on Saturday or Sunday's $175,000 Firecracker Handicap at a mile on the turf, closing day of Churchill's 42-day Spring Meet.
"We'd like to start him here,' Lukas said. "I used that Firecracker as a back- up. I know he's never been on the turf. I really don't want to ship him. I have the Salvatore Mile (July 3) at Monmouth, but I'd like to just leave him in his own stall and try him. If he gets beat, this first one is a means to an end.
"We'll wait and see how the next two days look. I have no reason to believe he won't bounce back from this work. He does every one of them so easy. He has amazing efficiency of motion. I've had some pretty good horses that I thought could get over the ground. I don't know if any of them got over it lighter than he does."
Last week Lukas indicated that the Whitney Handicap on August 7 at Saratoga is the immediate goal for Mine That Bird.
<< Report: Nowitzki likely heading for free agency
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki
will apparently opt out of the final year of his contract and become an
unrestricted free agent, according to a report in the Dallas Morning News.
The pap
<< Roddick stunned; Federer, Murray reach Wimbledon quarters
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Six-time champion Roger Federer and
Australian Open runner-up Andy Murray were easy fourth-round winners Monday,
while three-time runner-up Andy Roddick was stunned by Taipei's Yen-Hsun Lu at
Wimbledon.
<< This Week in Golf - July 1st through July 4th
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - AT&T NATIONAL - Aronimink Golf
Club, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania - Tiger Woods takes his tournament to the
Philadelphia area this week.
Aronimink Golf Club will begin its two-year stint
<< Watson soars 31 places in world rankings
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bubba Watson earned his first PGA Tour win
on Sunday at the Travelers Championship and climbed 31 places to No. 45 in the
world rankings.
Ahead of Watson there was little movement among the top 20.
Tige
Rockies/Phillies reschedule rainout >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies announced a makeup date
for their May 12 rainout against the Phillies to be played on September 2 at
Coors Field.
First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. (et). The game was originally sche
Brazil crushes Chile to reach quarterfinals >>
Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juan and Luis Fabiano scored in
a four-minute stretch late in the first half, and Brazil cruised to a 3-0 win
over Chile on Monday to reach the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup.
Juan opened
Jackson's no-hitter lands him top NL honors >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Edwin
Jackson has been named the National League Player of the Week for the
period ending June 27.
Jackson hurled the fourth no-hitter of the 2010 season on
Steelers' OL Colon injured >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle
Willie Colon has suffered an Achilles injury, according to a statement
released by the team on Monday.
The injury occurred during a workout and is
MySportsbook.com refunds all bets on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay from NFL week one.
(September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977. Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded.
Sportsbook refunded tens of thousands of dollars to customers who bet on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, the three teams that stunk up the field so badly that their fans and backers never had a chance to get up from their couches and cheer. In the spirit of the low scoring start to the season, odds makers at the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino have set odds on how many total shutouts there will be this season.
MySportsbook.com has posted updated sports betting lines for week two of the season. Ben Roethlisberger’s health status is still questionable, so Willie Parker will try to lead Pittsburgh again as they travel to Jacksonville as a one point favorite. After beating up on his little brother last week, Peyton Manning will look to lead the Colts to victory against Houston. Indianapolis is a whopping 13.5 favorite in the match-up.
Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions. They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals. The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown.
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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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